Architect, AAA

M. Arch (Water), B.AS (Hon), MRAIC

Safira has been an Intern Architect with Reimagine since 2018, but was first introduced to the firm when she was a co-op student in 2012. She holds an Honours Bachelor Degree in Architectural Studies (2015) and a Master of Architecture (Water) (2017) from the University of Waterloo, as well as certificates in Planning and Design with Water for Sustainability (2017) and Design Thinking for Business (2019) from TU Delft.

Safira is firmly convinced that space has a profound influence on the quality of everyday life. This belief drives her core commitment to advocate for the role of architecture in advancing just and equitable societies. She identifies her time spent working with the Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme in Afghanistan (2016) as the experience that has shaped most powerfully the way she practices design: “in its acute revelation of the missing link between design and policy, I saw first-hand the tangible impacts that design has on the lived realities of citizens.”

Safira is curious, driven, and passionate. She aims to soon obtain her architecture licence and is also interested in exploring spatial justice through the pursuit of an MPP or Ph.D. Since 2019, Safira has additionally been a design consultant for the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat in Central Asia where she is preparing design guidelines and technical details for sustainable housing strategies in rural mountainous areas of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Northern Pakistan. In 2020, Safira was recognized as a Top 30 Under 30 by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation for her contributions to Sustainable Development.